Google tells Oracle Android is protected by GPL

Google replaced its Java API implementation in the next version, Android N, with OpenJDK, an open source version of Oracle's JDK (Java Development Kit). Oracle uses the GPL license in the OpenJDK project.

Google immediately told the court (PDF) that it had released a new version of the Android platform with the explicit permission of Oracle, which gave Google free access to OpenJDK under the GPL, a free open source license. Google's legal battle with Oracle will continue, but the focus of the dispute will be on older versions of Android, which Google says are unaffected.

Google's announcement that Android N has been released is an interesting one, but in reality it's just a change to the source code, and the official commercial version will take some time to be released.